About Us

The fMECC is a 501c3 non-profit corporation with a principal business address in Evanston, Illinois that is also registered to operate in Indiana. 

LEADERSHIP

Rebecca L. Switzer, Ph.D.

Chair, Board of Directors

Rebecca is the 2023 MECC Program Chair and an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Bucknell University. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Indiana State University, a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Michigan, and then was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Iowa. Rebecca first attended MECC in 2005 as a graduate student and has been a regular attendee at the conference since. At Bucknell, Rebecca teaches general chemistry and biochemistry and mentors undergraduate research students in her lab. 


Elizabeth E. Trimmer, Ph.D.

Vice Chair, Board of Directors

Elizabeth is the 2023 MECC Program Chair-Elect (2024 Program Chair) and Professor of Chemistry at Grinnell College. She earned a  B.A. in Chemistry from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then was a NIH Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan.  At Grinnell, Elizabeth teaches biochemistry, organic, and general chemistry courses, and does research on a flavin-containing enzyme with undergraduates.


T. Joseph Kappock, Ph.D., M.B.A. 

President and Treasurer

Joe has spoken at three MECCs (2004, 2006, and 2012), was the MECC Program Chair in 2015, and has been a fMECC officer since 2018. After a postdoc at MIT, he was on the faculty of Wash U. and Purdue. He holds Chemistry degrees from Northwestern (BA) and Yale (PhD), and an MBA from Purdue Krannert.


Rachel Powers, Ph.D. 

Vice President and Secretary

Rachel is a previous MECC Program Chair (2021) and is new to the fMECC team, since 2022. Rachel received her PhD at Northwestern University. She attended her first MECC in 1998 while a graduate student there. She later did post-doctoral work at Michigan State University. Rachel is currently a professor of chemistry at Grand Valley State University, where she teaches biochemistry and mentors undergraduate students in her research lab.

Contact

Friends of the Midwest Enzyme Chemistry Conference, Inc.

c/o Pamela Beck

Northwestern University

Department of Chemistry

2145 Sheridan Rd

Evanston, IL 60208